Enhancing conservation biological control through flowering plants

When growers face significant arthropod pest issues, insecticide use often dominates the field. Although they show quick results, their harmful effects on humans, non-target arthropods, and other organisms can be significant. Therefore, finding sustainable approaches to managing pests to reduce insecticide use is essential. Many natural enemies can naturally control pests, but factors such as insecticide use, a lack of plant diversity, and other agronomic practices have reduced their numbers in crop fields. Developing strategies to attract these natural enemies to cropping systems is one of the most effective and sustainable methods of pest management used in conservation biological control. Certain flowering plants can attract natural enemies such as ladybeetles, green lacewings, flower flies, and minute pirate bugs; however, this concept is still not well-developed and lacks scientific data. Therefore, we selected five flowering plants (Phacelia tanacetifolia, Tropaeolum majus, Achillea filipendulina, Chrysanthemum carinatum, and Gaillardia pulchella) and a control, Capsicum annum, and arranged treatments in a randomized complete block design. The study consisted of four blocks, each with six plots. Each plot consisted of nine rows, with the middle three rows planted with bell peppers and three rows of flowering plants on each side. In control, all nine rows were planted with bell peppers. The number of arthropods attracted was evaluated using five sampling methods: flower collections, pitfall trapping, beat sheet sampling, visual observations, and sweep net sampling. Results are discussed. This research provides clear insights into which flowering plants are most effective in attracting natural enemies.